We Will Dance
by Gypsy
Summary: Chapter 4. In which movies are watched, Ryan has a plan, and Jason and Zeke have a chick flick moment.
1. I've watched the sunrise in your eyes

Disclaimer: Not mine. If you sue, all you are getting is a cat and a Phantom of the Opera music box collection.

Authors note: What can I say? I heard a song, and was inspired. This fic contains a surprise paring. Not one of your normal ones. Let's see if you can guess who they are. This first part does not name them, so let the guessing games begin.

For all those who will ask about Rhapsody...yes, I do plan on continuing. The story is pretty much planed in my mind, I've just got to get it down on paper. Please be paitent.

WE WILL DANCE

The cafeteria looked like a different world. What was normally a large, bland looking space on any other day was now transformed into a wonderland out of a fairy tale. It was appropriate, she thought, as 'Fairy Tale' was the theme of this dance.

The Masquerade ball was the second largest dance of the year, next to only Prom, and this year it was thought to give a different spin to it. Each student was to draw a character from a fairy tale to dress as. It was hoped that no one would tell anyone else which character they had drawn, because masks where not to be removed until a set time during the dance. This rule was widely ignored by most of the student population, but she was one of the few who did not share. She found the idea of being incognito exciting.

She knew that Ryan was dressing as The Mad Hatter. She laughed when she found that out. How perfect. Ryan and his hats! His girlfriend Kelsi was to be Little Red Riding Hood. Troy Bolton and his girlfriend Gabriella, by a weird twist of fate, had drawn The Beast, and Beauty, respectively.

All had asked her to tell which character she had drawn, but she would not.

"You'll just have to wait and see." She told them. This night she wanted to be her character, not herself. At least, until the mask came off.

Until then, she would simply be . . . Cinderella.

Now, she was not the Disneyfied Cinderella. She found the way Disney had taken over well known fairy tales to be annoying. There where so many other different versions out there, why would everyone always lean toward the Disney versions. As she looked around the room, she saw a Snow White dressed in the garish yellow, red, and blue Disney dress. Ugh! Whoever had come up with that look must have been blind. Gabriella's Beauty dress was the golden ball gown of the movie and Broadway versions. She did look rather nice in it, though.

But she had decided on a different look. Her favorite version of Cinderella was from a musical version she had seen when she was younger. The movie had stuck in her mind for years. Happily, just a few months ago, she had found that very movie on DVD at a local video store, so she was able to study the costume in detail. What she had finally found was close, if not an exact match. The 18th century style dress was white, with iridescent sequins giving it sparkle. A pair of white satin slippers studded with crystal beads adorned her feet. She had swept her hair back from her face, letting curls flow down her back. A white mask covered her face from her forehead to the tip of her nose.

She was Cinderella as Cinderella should be, anonymous, but still the most watched girl in the room.

Strange couples where already dancing together. The Mad Hatter and Little Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf with one of the 3 Little Pigs, the Tin Man with Goldilocks. It was absurd. Obviously the plan, which was to have students mingle, and try to find the others characters from their fairy tales, had fallen by the wayside.

She looked a little sadly at the spot where Beauty and the Beast had their arms wrapped around each other. Troy's Beast mask was truly frightening, but she knew the handsome face that lay hidden underneath. She sighed. The Beast would not dance with Cinderella, as he should not. Oh, if only he had drawn Prince Charming instead. But then, she supposed, he would have just told everyone he was the Beast after he was transformed and still have danced with only Gabriella.

So where was Prince Charming? There where several Kings and Princes in the room, but which one was her, Cinderella's, prince. Well, one way to find out.

She tapped a white coated prince on the shoulder.

"You wouldn't happen to be the prince from Cinderella, would you?"

The boy was thin. A little on the short side, and his red hair made his skin look a little pink. "Uh . . . no . . . sorry . . . gosh . . . " the pink skin turned even pinker thanks to the blush that came to his cheeks. "I...I'm supposed to be with Sleeping Beauty."

He was a freshman, obviously, and she silently thanked god he wasn't the one. She gave him a smile, though, which made his eyes bug out from his mask, and walked away.

She was asked to dance several times, but it felt wrong for Cinderella to dance with a wizard, or a frog . . . even if he was supposed to be a prince!

Her gaze found Troy the beast again, standing among his usual group, all in their costumed glory.

She could guess which one was Chad. No one could really hide that hair, although it lent itself nicely to the Cowardly Lion. His arm was slung over the shoulder of a good fairy. Taylor was all pink and sparkles, a complete turnabout from how she usually dressed. Which was the point, was it not? To be a different person, if only for one night?

If only everyone had simply played along.

Oh well, she would enjoy the night, even if she never did find her prince. She would go talk to Ryan and Kelsi. They wouldn't tell anyone who she was.

"Excuse me?" A voice said behind her. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Cinderella." She said with a sigh, without turning around. She had been asked that several times. Again with the Disneyfication thing. She did not look like their vision of Cinderella, so it confused them.

"Well, I guess that means I'm supposed to be with you then."

She turned, and looked right into the most beautiful hazel eyes she had ever seen.

_HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM_

He hadn't wanted to come tonight. A costumes party? That was for little kids. It was his senior year. He didn't want to dress up as a fairy tale prince and go to a dance, one to which he didn't even have a date. Everyone he knew was going with someone, even if they didn't draw characters from the same story.

And Prince Charming without a princess . . . embarrassing.

But his mother would not hear of it.

"There will be others there without a date. And you are going to be in disguise, no one will know you."

That's what she thought. He happened to know who quite a few people in the room already where, because they had told him. He had been too embarrassed to tell them what character he had drawn. What if they had laughed? He was hardly anyone's idea of a charming Prince.

His Mom had found the costume for him. She said it was representative of the time period in which the original story took place. It was a little frou-frou if you asked him.

A deep green coat, embroidered throughout with gold thread, over a white shirt with a bunch of frilly lace about the throat. Tight black pants tucked into high black boots. He felt ridiculous. He was happy for the black mask that covered most of his face. With any luck he'd be able to sneak out before the great mask removal. He didn't want to give any of his friends ammunition to use against him.

He had found, though, that the female population of East High seemed to like his costume. He had been accosted by every fairy tale princess in the room.

"You wouldn't happen to be Snow White's prince, would you?" A girl wearing a bad black wig and that horrible Disney dress asked him.

"Cinderella."

"Oh, too bad. Nice pants by the way." She winked at him. He didn't believe he had ever been winked at before.

He went through much of the same thing with Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel, but he didn't think it got out of hand until the Wicked Witch of the West asked him if he wanted to ride her broom.

He wanted out of the stupid costume after that.

He could see his friends gathered together. Lions and Beasts and sparkly fairies, oh my! He didn't go over there, didn't want them to know who he was, didn't want anyone to know who he was because it was really all so stupid. Fairy Tales! Who came up with these ideas?

A flash of white caught his eye. The girl was standing to the side, watching his group of friends. She wore a fancy, white dress. Like something from out of the 1700's, or something. Didn't his Mom say that the original Cinderella was written about that time?

Thank god she wasn't the Disney Cinderella. He hated that dress almost as much as the Snow White one.

Her golden hair fell in ringlets down her back, and he saw beading on her shoes as they peeked out from underneath the dress as she walked.

She had to be Cinderella, but he should ask, just to be sure.

"Excuse me? Who are you supposed to be?" he asked, coming up behind her.

"Cinderella." She sounded tired, like she had been asked that question too many times during the night.

"Well, I guess that means I'm supposed to be with you then."

She turned, and he fell into the deepest, brownest eyes he had ever seen.

_HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMSHM_

So, should I continue? Please be kind, and rewind. I mean review. Please review.


	2. I've seen the tears fall like the rain

He could not speak. Talking had never been much of a problem for him before. He liked to talk. He had been told he tended to talk too much, and at the worst times. Now though, he found he could not form the right words.

Those eyes. Those lovely, deep eyes. He could not say he recognized them. Her eyes and her mouth where the only part of her face not concealed by the white mask. Her identity was a complete mystery. But he could tell she was beautiful. She had too be. How could she be anything else with those eyes?

She stood before him, a smile slowly coming to her lips. He saw wonder and curiosity in her eyes. She must be wondering who he was, just as he was wondering about her.

The music changed. Slow and romantic, it was the type of song that usually had him running away in horror, but at the moment he felt there could not be another song that would best fit such a moment. The moment that he life changed forever.

He lifted his hand toward her. Without hesitation, she placed hers into it. They seemed to drift together, his arm going around her waist, her other hand gently touching his shoulder.

They moved, not caring how they looked, or that anyone at all was watching them.

He had been forced to take waltz lessons 3 years ago for a cousins wedding. He had endured them long enough to get through the reception, and never mentioned them to anyone. He thanked the lord for them now, as her led her across the floor. It felt only right that Cinderella and her Prince should dance like this. Swaying, spinning, the room nothing but a blur of color as they moved around the floor. He saw only her. Her eyes, her smile. Nothing else really mattered.

The song could have lasted forever. Unfortunately it ended all too soon, replaced by a pounding, rocking beat that did not fit the mood. He leaned toward her ear and said in a whisper, "Would you like to take a walk outside?"

She looked up into his eyes, and nodded. Still holding on to her hand, he led her through the throng of students toward the nearest exit. He saw several of his friends looking his way. They must have seen through his disguise, for they waved, trying to get his attention. He ignored them.

The cool night air was a pleasant contrast to the stuffiness of the cafeteria, caused by too many bodies in one room. He took a deep breath. He heard her do the same.

"Look at the stars."

It was the first time he had heard her speak. She sounded familiar, but he just could not place the voice. It was a wonder he could hear her at all with the way his heart was pounding in his ears.

He tipped his head back to see the sky. The night was clear, the moon was full and bright. A harvest moon he believed it was called. It was so large it nearly took up the whole of the sky.

"What about them?" he asked.

"I don't know. They look different somehow. It's like I'm seeing them for the first time, even though I see them almost every night. Oh, god, that sounds so stupid."

He laughed. "No, it doesn't. You're right. They seem...brighter somehow."

They walked toward the fountain in the front of the school. It was all so terribly romantic. If this had been a scene in a movie, he would have laughed at the absurdity of it

"Who are you?" he asked, unable to keep from asking. The curiosity was nearly killing him.

"Uh-uh." She shook her head, her golden curls swaying across her back. "Not yet. Not until the masks can come off."

"Do you usually follow the rules like that?"

Her laugh was music. Not a girlish, simpering little twitter that some girls used while trying to flirt. Her laugh sound open, real, happy. "Me? Not really. Hardly ever."

"So why tonight?"

They sat along the stone edge of the fountain, fingers still entwined. It was like they where made to fit together, her hand and his. Her finger nails where nicely manicured. One of those french ones, he thought. A shiny ring adorned the ring finger of her right hand. He thought it might be a real diamond, but he was not the greatest judge of jewelry. The only jewelry had was his class ring, and even that he thought was too large and chunky to wear.

"Tonight is different." She said.

"Yes. I guess it is."

He reached up to cup her mask covered cheek with his free hand, and pulled her face toward his. Their lips touched lightly. Just a touch, a taste, a curious test to see how her lips would feel against his. Just like her hand, her lips seemed to fit against his own. So he deepened the touch. His lips pulled against hers, drawing them in deeper and deeper, not daring to try to open them just yet. He did not want to go too far, did not want to scare her off.

He so feared that once his mask was off she would run away, so he wanted this moment to last as long as it could.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her. Those eyes where shining at him, and she was smiling.

"I liked that." She said. "I wouldn't mind if you do it again."

"I will." He promised. He'd kiss her forever if he could. "If I guess who you are, would you tell me?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. But if I have to answer your questions, then you have to answer mine."

"Deal. Alright, what year are you in?"

"Senior."

Same as him. That narrowed down the field a little bit. He tried to think of all senior class girls who had blond hair and brown eyes. There where quite a few, although he could not think of any whose hair was such a bright, golden color. Too many of them where blonds from a bottle, and the color tended to look a little brassy. Her hair was so soft looking. Might it be a wig?

No, it was too real. Not that it really mattered. Her hair could be blond, brown, red, or even green. He wouldn't care as long as she had those eyes. Brown eyes, though where just as common as blond hair. More then half the girls in senior class had brown eyes.

"What about you?" She asked.

"Same. Do you play any sports?"

"God no. I'm completely inept at sports. Do you?"

"I'm on the basketball team."

"Well, I know you're not Troy Bolton."

"Hey, despite what everyone in this school thinks, Troy is not the only guy on the basketball team."

"I know, he's just the one that commands the most attention."

"Does he command yours?" he asked a little uncertainly. Others girls had gone out with him just for the chance at getting close to Troy. He didn't hold it against him. Troy was a good friend, and he didn't go looking for the attention, he just drew it in, like he was a flame and everyone around him where moths. But it hurt him that girls where not interested in him for himself.

"Honestly? He did."

Again, not information that was all that useful. He didn't have enough fingers to count all the girls in East High that would like to land Troy Bolton. He was happy that it appeared Troy was now permanently off the market.

"But," She continued, "I've recently come to the conclusion that Troy is not who I want."

Well, if that didn't make his hear rate soar through the roof. Of it would, if they weren't outside.

"So, if you don't play sports, what do you like to do?"

"I like to sing, and dance. I've never told anyone this before, but I like to draw too. I've never even shown anyone my pictures."

"Why?"

"Because, I guess it's not who I am. Or who I'm supposed to be. Or who everyone thinks I am."

"And here I thought this school was over all that 'status quo' stuff."

"Are you kidding? We'll never be over it till we're out of here. It's sad, isn't it? I never used to think so. I thought I should always be exactly what other people think I should be. But, this last summer...well, some things happened that got me thinking about it. The way I acted, stuff I did...it didn't make people like me very much. And I hurt some people. So, they hurt me back. I found I didn't like the feeling." She shook her head in wonder. "I can't believe I'm telling you all this. I don't even really know you, and yet..."

"Yet you feel like you've known me forever." He finished. "Yeah, I know. I feel the same way."

"So, any guesses as to who I am?"

He laughed, and stood up, pulling her to her feet with him. "Nope. Guess I'll just have to be surprised."

"I hope it's a good surprise. I hope...I hope you aren't disappointed."

"If anyone is going to be disappointed, I'm afraid its going to be you. This is just a costume, you know. I'm not really Prince Charming. I'm just...me."

"And I'm not really Cinderella. I'm as far from Cinderella as you can get."

"You could be an evil step-sister. It would be alright. I'd do my best to love the wickedness out of you."

HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM

"I'd do my best to love the wickedness out of you."

Those words seemed to cut through to her heart. What would he think if he knew who she really was? How would he feel after he sees her face, knows who she is knows, knows all the truly awful things she had done?

She didn't want to loose this feeling. Like she belonged somewhere, belonged to someone. It was strange that the feeling should happen with a boy whose face she could not see.

She studied him as they walked back toward the school. Brown hair that was a little unruly. It hung over his mask and into his eyes. She wanted to brush it away, but only for the excuse to touch it, to run her hand through those dark strands that looked like silk. And his eyes...oh, those beautiful hazel eyes. How could any girl look into them and not get lost.?

Blue eyes had always been her favorite. Blue eyes like Troy's. But she had never found herself drowning in Troy's eyes the way she found herself in this boy's. They seemed to turn green after he had kissed her.

That kiss! She had never been kissed like that before. It was like he didn't want to scare her. She had wanted to grab him and completely ravish his mouth, but was afraid he would think she was too fast.

She knew that was one of the rumors that went around about her. She was fast, she was easy. The way she dressed and acted didn't do much to stop the rumors, even though she had only been out with 3 boys in all 4 years she had been at East High. She had found that past summer that her style of flirting was a little too much for some guys. What she had thought would attract only drove them away. When she knew she had lost her last chance with Troy, she thought her heart might break.

Troy was the farthest thing from her mind right now. The only thing that concerned her was the boy next to her.

So who was he?

Brown hair was way too common, although she could honestly say she had never seen those eyes before. And there where several guys with brown hair on the basketball team, including those who never left the bench during a game. He could be any of them, and she would never be able to guess, for she had never paid any of them much attention before. She had always believed that they where beneath her.

But he could be the water boy for all she cared right then. She liked the way his hand felt in hers. She liked the way his lips felt on hers. She liked the way her heart seemed to beat a thousand times per second.

If he wanted to love the wickedness out of her, she's let him.

She heard the sound of Mrs. Darbus talking over the loudspeaker as they came back into the cafeteria. They where about to announce the winners of the costume contest, the boy and girl who would be crowned King and Queen of the dance, after which everyone would remove their masks.

In the past she would hope and pray she would win the crown, and would throw a holy fit if her name was not announced. But not tonight. It wouldn't matter if she won, or not. She had already received a much better prize then a fake, plastic tiara.

"Everyone, quiet down." Mrs. Darbus was saying. "We have been watching everyone tonight, and we have our contest winners. Please welcome your King and Queen of the Masquerade Ball...Prince Charming and his Cinderella!"

She gasped, and his hand clutched her tighter. "That's us." He sounded shocked. Had he never been singled out in a such a way before?

"Yes. It is. We have to go up there."

"We do? In front of everyone?"

"That's the plan." She tugged on his hand and led him toward the temporary stage. It was her second time as Queen of a dance, having one the crown at her Junior High Homecoming. She wondered if this crown would mean she could not run for Homecoming or Prom this year.

The walked up to the stage to the applause of the student body. She let the principle place the tiara on her head. Mrs. Darbus crowned her Prince with a plastic gold crown. His hand never left hers.

"And now," continued Mrs. Darbus, "We ask that our King and Queen remove their masks."

She held her breath as she turned her face toward his, and let go of his hand to bring both of hers to touch her mask. It seemed he moved in slow motion as his fingers grasped the edge of his own mask, lifting it ever so slowly up.

She saw his eyes close, and hers flowed suit. When her mask was free from her face, she heard nothing but silence. There was not clapping, or cheering. It was silence that seemed...shocked.

She opened her eyes...and saw him. He was looking at her.

"Sharpay?"

He sounded...almost hurt, and she thought she might cry. Now that she knew who he was, she found she didn't care. It didn't matter. He was still...HIM. But it seemed he did care. She saw it all in those hazel eyes.

She felt the tears begin to fall down her cheeks as her heart shattered.

"Jason."


	3. You've seen me fight so brave and strong

_I just want to say thanks for the reviews. They mean alot._

_Some of you may be wondering just what is the song I alude to in this fic. Well, you will have to wait a bit, but I will be putting all the words into this. Not is then part, but soon. If you are really curious, the name of the song is the title of the fic, and the chapter headers are lyrics. If you go to Youtube and type in the title, you can find some videos done to this song. None with Sharpay and Jason of course, but if you really want to hear the song..._

_It's really beautiful. I highly recommend it. On with the show._

MONDAY

Jason wondered how difficult it would be to get himself transferred to a different school. Maybe somewhere in Australia. Would that be far enough?

He stood at his locker, pretending to look for a book, conscious of all the eyes on him. He could just tell what they where all thinking.

'There's Jason Cross. Did you see him and Sharpay Evans at the dance? What a joke!'. Or, 'She looked like she really liked him. She must have thought he was someone else'.

Yes, it certainly was a joke, wasn't it? It had to be. Sharpay Evans and Jason Cross? The Drama Queen and the idiot Basketball player? It was a paring nature never intended.

He had seen that Friday night as soon as the masks where off. The shock on her face, the tears in her eyes. She had not been expecting him. She didn't want him.

And why should she? The one player on the basketball team noone payed any attention too. The lunkhead who sat in the back of drama class and slept half the time, and spent the other half asking Mrs. Darbus stupid questions.

Well, he never asked them to annoy anyone, he was just honestly curious. And Mrs. Darbus could be darn entertaining in a 'oh my god, I can't believe she said that' way when she really got going.

But Sharpay had always shot him looks of pure venom whenever he would dare to raise his hand. At least, she used too. She had been sort of quiet this year. A lot easier to get along with then in previous years. He remembered hearing Ryan say something about her learning a few lessons over the summer. Isn't that what she had said, while they had been sitting by the fountain? She had hurt a few people, so she had been hurt in return. That was a tough lesson to learn. But it looked like things had been forgiven. She and Kelsi had started hanging out together, ever since Kelsi starting dating Ryan.

Jason's ex and Sharpay's twin. That should have seemed like a strange paring, but it wasn't. Kelsi and Ryan made sense in a way that she and Jason never did. Way more sense then he and Sharpay could ever make. That was why he had lit out of there Friday night. He hadn't wanted to embarrass her anymore then he already had. He did it for her own good, she should see that.

She should. Except it was pretty clear from what happened that morning that she didn't.

He saw her coming in to the school this morning. Ok, so he was waiting. He had only wanted to see her, to reassure himself that nothing had changed. Sharpay Evans would walk into the school like she owned it, just like she always had, laughing off the events of Friday night like they never happened. When he saw that, he could go on being Jason Cross, varsity basketball player, but otherwise a general nobody.

The only problem was that actually seeing her in the light of day brought a few truths to the forefront.

Truth One: Sharpay was beautiful even without make-up. Perhaps even more so, if that where possible.

Truth Two: What he felt for her that night was still present, if the sudden rise in his heart beat was any indication.

Truth Three: She had been crying. Her red rimmed eyes and tired expression where all the evidence he needed to know that.

Truth Four: He, Jason Cross, was a first class jerk and he'd be doing the school a favor by taking a header off of Troy's secret roof-top garden.

Sharpay had been wearing jeans. Designer jeans, mind you, and they probably cost more then the monthly payment on his Dad's Lexus, but they where denim and they where blue and that right there was a pretty good indication that not all was right in Sharpay land.

Sure, the white top contained sparkles, but he was pretty sure she didn't own anything without sparkles. The top seemed rather plain compared to other outfits he's seen her in. The whole effect said that she just reached into her closet, not caring what it was she put on. No make-up except for lip gloss, hair up in a pony tail.

Everyone stared at her as she walked past, mouths hanging open in shock. To them she must look horrible. To Jason, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

It was him that had put that look of absolute sadness on her face, He wanted to die right there and then. Anything to make this feeling go away. He didn't know why it had taken so long for the whole teenage angst thing to hit him with all the subtlety of a freight train, but now that it had he realized he could live without it just fine.

She had seen him standing there. When their eyes met, it had felt like it did that first time. Jason's heart did one big flying leap into his throat, and he wanted to do nothing more then run to her, pick her up in his arms and kiss the daylights out of her. The look of hurt and betrayal on her face was the only thing that stopped him.

She had walked away as fast as she could.

The only had two classed together, so she was basically able to avoid him. He had tried to text her, but they where ignored. Not even so much as a 'leave me alone' was sent in response. During lunch he had asked if he could borrow Gabriella's phone. She had looked at him like he was lower then the bugs that lived in dirt. Troy and Chad just averted their eyes, torn between wanted to stand by their friend, and not wanting to fight with their girlfriends. Girlfriends won out. After explaining to her why he wanted to use it, Gabby seemed to soften just a touch and gave it to him. He sent her a text from that phone, hoping if Sharpay saw Gabby's number, she'd look at it.

It worked, until she saw the message. 'Talk 2 Me!'

She snapped her phone shut and refused to look in his direction.

And just so he could be 100 certain that the world had turned against him, Zeke wouldn't talk to him.

Zeke, his best friend since 4th grade. Zeke, who had worshiped Sharpay from afar for years, ever since he was 6 and learned there was a difference between boys and girls.

Jason felt bad about that. Awful. Horrible. He was going to make it up to Zeke somehow, but first he had to get Sharpay to admit to his existence.

The whole day had pretty much sucked.

Last period he was going to be stuck in a room where Sharpay sat at the front, he at the back. So he'd be staring at the back of her head for an hour. Perfect.

He was about to face his doom and enter the room, when a hand grabbed his elbow.

"Come with me."

He was being dragged along by Ryan Evans, Sharpay's twin.

"Ryan, we've got class." He tried to twist his arm out of Ryan's grip, but the other boy held on. He was surprisingly strong. Being the newest pitcher on the baseball team must build a lot of muscles in the hand.

Ryan held up two slips of paper.

"I got Mrs. Darbus to give us both passes. We've got to talk."

Jason thought he'd rather face a firing squad then Sharpay's brother. If his hand could grip that strong, there was no telling what it could do to Jason's face once it was clenched into a fist.

Ryan pulled him into the music room and shut the door. He finally let go of Jason's arm then just stood there, arm's crossed over his chest, staring at Jason as thought he expected him to start the conversation.

"Well?" Ryan asked.

"Well What?" Jason decided to fall back on his old stand by when confronted with a situation he really didn't want to face...he played dumb.

"I'd like to know what you think you're playing at. What the hell is wrong with you, leaving the dance like that? Do you know what my sister has been doing all weekend? Crying. When she wasn't doing that, she must have watched 'The Slipper and the Rose' 20 times."

"What the hell is 'The Slipper and the Rose?"

"Rent it! Then she downloaded that song you danced to and played it over, and over and over again. I'm sick of that song already, Jason. She's a wreck, and you need to do something."

"Like what? She won't talk to me. I've sent her messages, she won't read them. She won't even look at me."

"Can you blame her? You hurt her, man. And let me tell you, I don't normally go looking for fights and you probably could beat the crap out of me if I tried, but Sharpay is my sister. She may be annoying as hell sometimes, but she's still my sister, and anyone who hurts her has to answer to me."

"Go ahead." Jason put his books down and stood before Ryan, his arms spread out. "Hit me. I don't care. I deserve it. I won't even hit you back."

"I won't get jumped by the rest of the basketball team after school?"

"Are you serious? Thanks to Gabby and Taylor, Troy and Chad think I'm scum. And I'll be lucky if Zeke doesn't try to gut me with a spatula. Honestly, at this point, you hitting me seems like the lesser of all the evils."

Ryan then did something Jason was not expecting...he laughed.

"Oh god. Man, I'm sorry. I can't." He took a breath to calm his laughter down. "I can't hit a man when he's down."

"Gee, thanks. I feel a lot better."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Does she even really want me? Why would she? Hasn't she heard everyone talking today? They think it's all a joke."

"Not EVERYONE is talking about it. I think you just have selective hearing. And Sharpay doesn't think it's a joke. Isn't that what really matters?"

Jason sighed. He wanted to believe Ryan, he really did. The weekend had been horrible for him too. Sharpay wasn't the only one who had downloaded that song. It was currently #1 on his Ipod. He had spent two whole days brooding in his room. It was pitiful.

"Are you sure? Is she sure?"

"For gods sake, Jason. Have you seen her today?"

"But we make no sense. She's Queen of East High. I'm just an underling."

"Why exactly are you trying to talk yourself out of this? I saw the way you where looking at her. Both at the dance and today. I saw the way she looked at you when she thought you weren't watching. It's different, yeah, I'll give you that, but no different then me and Kelsi. Troy and Gabby? Chad and Taylor? Do you think any of us make sense?"

"Yes."

"I guess it's all a matter of how you look at things then." Ryan said with a shrug.

There was no more argument to make. Jason gave up. "Ok. What do you think I should do?"


	4. You've held my hand when I'm afraid

_The movies alluded to in this chapter happen to be favorites of mine. I had to write about them according to how I think Jason would react to them, not myself. So please, don't flame me for what you read herein._

_A little challenge for you! Anyone who can guess which TV show Jason and Zeke talk about gets a batch of virtual brownies baked espessially by Zeke._

_HSMSHMSHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMSHMSHMSHM_

It took til Friday for Ryan's plan to come in to play.

In the meanwhile, Jason went looking for that movie that Sharpay supposedly did a marathon viewing of over the previous weekend.

He could not find 'The Slipper and the Rose' at any area Blockbuster's or Hollywood Video's. He got many strange looks when he asked for it.

Finally, after an internet search, he found some kind soul had uploaded the entire movie on to Youtube. It was a musical version of Cinderella, and made Jason contemplate gouging his eyes out, but it had its moments. Like that ballroom scene. He wondered if that was how he and Sharpay had looked, dancing in costumes so similar to those worn by the characters in the movie. The songs where a bit insipid, and the movie dragged on forever, but he got through it, and felt enormously proud of himself for the feat.

On Wednesday, Ryan handed him a DVD case.

"Watch this."

Jason looked at the cover, then at Ryan.

"Dude, why the hell?"

"Just watch it. Trust me. You're going to need it by Friday."

So, Jason had watched another movie. This one full of people in even more elaborate costumes then the last one, talking in English accents and saying things he couldn't understand for the life of him. The sword fights where pretty cool, but why did so many people have to die?

He had given Sharpay space. It wasn't that hard, as she was still avoiding him.

Ryan said she was as sullen as ever at home, and Jason had to wonder why she was putting herself through all this when she could just talk to him already.

"She's waiting for you to make the first move." was Ryan's answer.

"The first move? I've all but had Zeke bake a large cake with 'I'm sorry' written on it that I could jump out of."

"I don't think you need to do anything that dramatic, although it would be funny as hell to watch. Just wait till Friday, man. I've got it all worked out."

"You want to clue me in?"

"Trust me." Ryan said with a smile.

On Thursday, the events of the previous weekend had blown over for most of the school. The minds of teenagers could not expect to stay on one subject for too long, so all but a select few had forgotten about it. Jason, Sharpay, Ryan...and Zeke. He was still not talking to Jason.

So it was Thursday afternoon that Jason entered the locker room to change for practice. Zeke, Chad, and Troy where sitting on a bench in front of the lockers, pulling up socks and tying shoe laces. Zeke stopped talking when he saw Jason come in, and turned his back.

Man, that hurt.

Troy looked up to see him, then looked over to Chad.

"Ummm...Chad, don't we have that thing we gotta do?"

"Thing?" Chad looked confused.

"Yeah, you know. The thing?" Troy was being very obvious, the way he kept inclining his head in Jason's direction, then looking back at Zeke. Jason let it pass. He knew what Troy was trying to do.

"Oh. Yeah!" said Chad, finally catching on. "The thing. Can't forget about that."

The two quickly left, and Jason and Zeke where alone in the locker room. Zeke fiddled with his shoe laces, trying not too look at Jason.

Jason opened his locker and removed his uniform. He had never before thought that silence could have a sound. This one did. He could hear Zeke move, clear his throat. Every noise was loud and uncomfortable.

"Alright, I can't take it anymore." Jason slammed his locker shut. "Please, just talk to me. Tell me you hate me. Tell me you never want to see me again. Just please, say something."

Zeke didn't turn around to look at him. His best friends eyes locked on the clock over Coach Bolton's office door.

"Fine." He finally said. It was the first word Jason had heard out of his mouth in days. "Why? Why did you do it? Why her?"

Jason sighed. "Do you think it happened on purpose?"

"You know how I feel about her!"

"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry, man. I didn't even know it was her at first. It just happened. And it...it was good."

"So, why'd you leave?" Zeke finally turned around. He didn't look angry, which was a surprise to Jason, just hurt. Seemed he was getting pretty good at hurting people.

"I thought...I thought it would be better for her."

"You were wrong."

"I know."

"You hurt her!"

"I know."

"I ought to beat this shit out of you for that."

"You can start a posse with Ryan."

"Ryan." Zeke was standing now. He was taller then Jason. Usually this was never given much notice, but at the moment it made Jason feel uncomfortably small. "I've noticed you two seem very chummy lately."

Jason blinked. Zeke sounded...jealous? "Well, he's one of the only people in this school that seems to want to talk to me."

Zeke looked embarrassed by that. "Geez, man. I'm sorry. I was just...seeing you...and Sharpay...it hurt."

"And I can't say I'm sorry enough. You're the best friend I've got. But Sharpay,...I don't know, but I never felt anything before like I did at that dance. I was stupid and ran away from it. I want it back."

"So you're still gonna go after her?"

"I have too. Please try to understand."

"I do. I do understand. Just tell me one thing."

"What's that?"

"Is it real? This thing with you and Sharpay?"

Jason shrugged. "At the dance, yeah, I'd have to say it was real. Now? She won't even look at me, but I have to know. I have to know if we where just caught up in the magic of it all, or if it's really the real thing."

"Fair enough." Zeke smiled, the first real smile Jason had seen from him in a while. "And you're wrong. She does look at you. All the time. When you turn your head, she looks away. I've seen her do it."

"Really?"

Zeke nodded.

"What does she look like when she does it?"

"She's never looked at me like that." He said sadly. "She's never even looked at Troy like that."

"Like what, exactly?"

"Like...she loves you."

"Shit." Jason breathed out. So there it was. What he felt kicking him in the heart all this week whenever he saw her...it was true. And she felt it too.

"Crap, man. Forget practice. Go find her. Get down on your knees if you have too, but don't throw that away."

"I want too, more then anything. But Ryan, he has some sort of plan. I don't know what it is, but he's been working on it all week. He's her brother. Like he says, I have to trust him."

Zeke nodded, seeming to accept that. "Just don't wait too long. You know, if whatever Ryan does doesn't work."

"I won't." Agreed Jason. "So, are we ok?"

"We will be, I guess. Besides," He said with a smile, "It's Thursday. I wasn't really looking forward to watching our show alone. Rock salt and Demon slayings just isn't any fun without you."

Jason grinned. "Your house this week, right?"

"I baked the crust for an apple pie last night."

Jason had to laugh. For the first time that week, he felt good. "Bitch." He said, giving start to their Thursday tradition.

"Jerk." Zeke replied. And suddenly all was forgiven. For the most part anyway.

Hearing their laughter, Troy and Chad came back in.

"Everything alright now?" Troy asked.

"Well, not everything. There's still the little problem of Sharpay."

"So, you're really going to go after her?" Chad asked. Jason nodded. " Well, man. I think you're crazy, but I've learned to mind my own business when it comes to my friends' relationships. If you want her, I say go for it."

"Excuse me, gentlemen." They all turned at the sound of Coach Bolton's voice. He was leaning against the door way that lead to the gym. "If this little male bonding ritual is over, would you please grace us with your presence in the gym?"

"Come on, let's go." Zeke threw his arm around Jason's shoulder.

One down, one to go, Jason thought. He was happy to have his best friend bac, but could he get Sharpay? He never really had her in the first place. One night does not a lasting relationship make. But if he didn't try, Sharpay might not ever forgive him. Zeke wouldn't, either. Most of all, he didn't think he could ever forgive himself.

He felt strangely calm on Friday. He was determined to go with the flow, no matter the plan Ryan had come up with. Gabby actually smiled at him. He supposed Troy had told her about Zeke and him making up. It felt good to know he had all his friends on his side again.

When he walked into Drama class Friday afternoon, he was greeted by the sight of Ryan and Mrs. Darbus having a conversation at her desk. Ryan smiled and nodded at him, then followed him to his back row desk.

"So?" Jason asked, flopping down in his chair.

"It's all set. Mrs. Darbus initiates 'Project Romancing Sharpay' today."

"Darbus?" He raised an eyebrow. "You got Darbus involved in this?"

"Couldn't do it without her. Besides, she's a theater lover, and we're all romantics at heart."

"I better not regret this." Jason said, more to himself then to Ryan.

"Stop worrying." Ryan said. He looked over his shoulder and smiled. Sharpay had come in.

Jason stared in wonder at her. She was wearing a sleeveless blue sun dress that went well with her loose, softly curled blond hair. A pair of silver flats replaced the heels she normally wore. A crystal beaded necklace was her only jewelry. She was beautiful.

He heard Ryan chuckle. "Damn. It worked."

"Huh?" Jason looked up at Ryan. "What worked?"

"She bought that dress a couple of days ago. Thought you might like it. She wanted to make you crazy. By the look on your face, I'd say she succeeded."

"She did? She told you that?"

Ryan laughed. "She tells me everything." He went to his own desk, leaving Jason to think about all that.

"Alright, class." Darbus began, clapping her hands together tog et everyone's attention. "Today we shall take our first step on a glorious adventure into the world of William Shakespeare."

Several groans greeted this announcement. Jason looked at Sharpay. She was fiddling with the edge of her pink, glittery binder. He turned his eyes to Ryan. He was having a very hard time keeping a straight face. Oh lord, what did he do?

"At the end of this journey we will present to our illustrious school the classic play of ultimate love, 'Romeo and Juliet'."

This time the only groan was Jason's. That was the movie Ryan had him watch.

Sharpay looked like she was finally paying attention, smiling even. Her smile was dazzling.

"Tryouts will be a little different this year." Mrs. Darbus began handing out stacks of paper which turned out to be the play itself. "Written on the top of each of your copies is the name of the partner with whom you will do your individual project.. Highlighted within your script is the scene which the two of you will perform. Whichever couple gives the best performance, as well as the highest grade, will win the lead roles. You have two weeks to practice and learn your parts. I will be grading on performance and originality. Now, I ask that you please find your partners, and begin to prepare."

With a sense of dread, Jason looked down at the pages now in front of him. He already knew what name he would see before he even looked at it. There it was. 'Sharpay Evans'.

He shot a look over to Ryan meant to convey the message 'I am so going to kill you'.

Ryan seemed unfazed. The blond boy leaned back in his chair, laced his hands behind his head, and grinned.

"Ahem." Someone...a female someone...cleared their throat in front of him. Looking up, he saw Sharpay stood at his desk, holding up her own copy of the play, his name scrawled across the top. She looked white as a sheet.

"Was this your idea?"


	5. Sometimes it's hard to hold you tight

1

She had checked herself one last time in the restroom mirror before going into Drama class. She knew she looked good. The blue dress was a departure for her. Longer then the length she normally wore, it fell in an A-line form to her knees. The ban at the top and the straps where covered in lace, matching the color of the rest of the dress.

It had appealed to her when she saw it. She had thought of Jason.

Jason would most defiantly like it. He was not the short skirt and glittery type. He liked his girls real.

She could be real.

So, she bought it, hoping to drive him crazy. Make him regret walking out on her.

But she wasn't going to make it easy for him. Oh no. She had plans to make him suffer first. She had been doing that all week. Avoiding him, ignoring his messages.

Ryan had tried to make her see the errors of those ways.

"Shar, don't you think if you push him too far away, he might get lost?"

But she was of a stubborn nature, and refused to listen.

She knew all this could not last forever. One week, and she could already feel herself weakening. Jason's last text, received just yesterday, was simple and to the point, yet so honest she wanted to run to him and throw her arm's around him.

_SO SORRY. PLEASE FORGIVE._

But she couldn't. She just couldn't. And it was killing her.

If anyone had told her a year ago that one day she'd be pining over Jason Cross and buying clothes to impress him, she'd laugh in their face. Although Jason was on the basketball team, and therefore popular by extension, she had never considered him in the past. Sharpay Evans was way too high up on the East High food chain. She was 'important', at least in her own mind. Important people should associate themselves with other important people. The football players where never her style. Most of them thought girls should just fall all over them and be thankful they where giving them the time of day. Too many of the girls they went out with ended up with 'reputations'. There where enough rumors about her floating around the school, she didn't need to add 'football groupie' to the list.

So, she turned to the basketball team. And Troy Bolton.

Troy was a natural choice. Popular, cute without taking too much attention away from her. And to add heat to the fire, he couldn't stand her.

Sharpay loved a challenge, and Troy had been the 100,000 one. The more he had run, the more she had chased. Until she had run him right into Gabriella Montez.

It would do her no good to get her mind all involved in what she had come to call the 'Twinkle Town Incident'. It had been over so many times it had become redundant. The outcome had been that Gabriella got both the part and Troy.

Yet still, Sharpay had refused to give up. She was used to getting her way, and hated it when someone got one up on her. So still she pursued Troy with a fervor she usually reserved for theater try-outs. She never really stopped to consider why, that was just the way it had always been. It was not until she looked into the most beautiful hazel eyes in the world that thoughts of Troy fled her mind.

Eyes that belonged to Jason Cross. Eyes that seemed to look into her heart, her soul. Eyes that in that very moment where making her forget why she had come over to his desk in the first place.

Jason was looking up at her with a stricken expression. There was fear in those eyes. Fear of what? Her? Or was he as scared of the feelings that flowed between them as she was. So scared she didn't know what to do.

"Was this your idea?" she had asked. Could Jason had truly worked up such a plan. If so, she had to give him credit.

"No." Jason finally spoke. "I...it was really all Ryan's idea."

"Ryan." She threw her brother a nasty glance. She saw him quickly turn his head, bend down and whisper something to Kelsi, who sat beside him. "I'll kill him."

"Get in line." Jason mumbled.

"Well," Sharpay squared her shoulders. She could do this. She could! She was a strong person. Nothing got to her. Nothing...and nobody. "I suppose there's nothing we can do about it. Mrs. Darbus rarely changes her mind when she decides something." She pulled a abandoned chair over to sit across from Jason. She would not sit beside him. She didn't trust herself to get too close to him. "Do you know anything about 'Romeo and Juliet'?"

"I saw the movie."

She could feel his eyes on her. It felt like a caress. She could feel them as they ran over her hair, across her face, down to her bare shoulders.

Oh god. Did her dress strap just move?

She mentally shook herself. Stop that, Sharpay. Focus.

"Good. So you know the scene?"

Jason flipped through his script till he hit the scene outlined in yellow highlighter.

"Oh, yeah." He smiled a little. "I remember this one."

"How do you think we should do this?"

Jason snapped his head up, eyes wide. She was really beginning to loose all resolve. Lord, if she had to be around him much longer, she was going to go crazy.

"Do what? How should we do what?"

Oh my god! He was absolutely beautiful. A little voice inside her head was saying 'How should we love each other? How should we say to hell with convention and just fall into each others arms? How should I kiss you? How can I stop being to stubborn, so angry? You said you're sorry, why can't I just except that?'

"I..." Mentally, she slapped the voice in her mind. She couldn't concentrate with it telling her things she didn't want to hear right now. "I mean the scene. How should we do the scene."

"Oh." He looked down again. It seemed he was having trouble looking at her. She wondered if she should be thrilled or disappointed at this reaction. "You're the drama expert. You would know better how to do this then me."

"But its your grade too."

"Do you really want this part?" He asked.

"What kind of question is that?" She snapped at him. She saw him flinch ever so slightly, and immediately felt guilty. Ryan had told her that Jason was as sad as her about all that happened. She could see that sadness in the way he sat, hear it in the sound of his voice.

"You realize if you win the part, then so do I? Isn't that how this works?"

"So?" Actually, she hadn't thought of that. The realization that she wasn't the least bit disappointed came as something of a surprise to her.

"Sharpay, I can't do this. I can't work with you. It's too hard."

"Well," She said, trying to keep from bursting into tears. "I'm so sorry, that you got stuck with 'The Ice Queen' for this. Maybe Mrs. Darbus will switch partners after all."

"Don't call yourself that! You're not 'The Ice Queen'. I..." He sighed. "Look, Sharpay, its not about that."

"Then what is it?" She wanted to beg and plead. Tell me, please tell me what you're thinking. I can't take this anymore. I want to be with you, but you have to want it too.

"I can't...I can't act." He finally said. "If you do this with me, you won't get your part because I can't act. I don't want you to not get it because of me."

"Oh. Is that all?" That was sweet. That was really very sweet. Noone had ever cared about how they would make her look before. She knew he was right. This was going to be hard. Possibly the hardest thing she had ever done, but there was no way on earth she was going to run away from it. Not ever again. "Well," she said with a shrug. "I guess I'll just have to teach you."


	6. Sometimes we dance as one

_Hey, I'm back. Miss me? Sorry, the muse decided not to speak to me for a while. I will try to keep her pleased until I get this sucker done. This one is a little longer to make up for the wait. I have another chapter already written, so I'll try to get that one out to you tomorrow. Until then, enjoy._

_HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM_

The East High theater was the inner sanctum. At least, that was how Sharpay viewed it. It was her shrine of choice, one of the only places she felt truly real. Here she reined supreme. Ok, no so much anymore, but it was still her place.

The smell of the grease paint, the roar of the crowd. It was all she ever wanted. The stage was her calling.

I would surprise people to find out she had no interest in movies or television. They had their merits, of course, but they could not give her what she wanted. What she craved. She wanted to sing, to dance, for a short while to become someone else, transport the audience to another place, to hear their applause and know they appreciated the gift she had given them. Broadway was where she wanted to go. Or maybe London and the West End theater district.

She know it wouldn't be easy, but she was determined, she would work hard for it.

Her love for performing was the main reason she had tried to sabotage Troy and Gabriella's tryouts. She just couldn't stand the thought of having the one thing she was truly good at, the one thing she wanted, taken away from her.

That was the past though, and the past didn't matter now.

Now was 'Romeo and Juliet'. Now was Jason Cross.

She felt a thrill rush through her at the thought of him. He would be here soon. He was coming after basketball practice to meet her. They had a lot of work ahead of them. She was going to turn Jason Cross into Romeo if it was the last thing she ever did.

"Romeo, Romeo." She recited as she walked across the stage, lost in the words of the Bard. "Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father, and refuse they name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

"That's not our scene."

Sharpay whipped around to see Jason standing by the stage, script in hand, a smile on his handsome face.

He really was so incredibly good looking. It wasn't like she had never noticed that before. She was of the female persuasion, and he was most defiantly male. But now there was something more. Those eyes, those deep, expressive, hazel eyes. They looked into her, past all the drama queen facade to see the real girl underneath. What did he see? Did he like it?

"I know." She said, "I was just fooling around."

He hopped up on the stage. He was so tall. Not the tallest player on the basketball team, but his height worked well with the rest of him. And the rest of him...that was pretty good too.

Geez, stop ogling him! You're supposed to be angry with him. You weak, stupid fool.

Sure, her mind kept telling her these things, but every other part of her wanted to be closer to him. He was like a magnetic force, drawing her closer and closer till soon she would be stuck to him.

Stuck to him. Ooooh, she like that thought.

"You're pretty good." He was saying. "Have you done this play before?"

"No." She snapped herself out of her very unlady like thought. Good God, what was wrong with her? "Me and Ryan used to play around with it. Just for fun."

"Shakespeare, fun? You do know how this thing ends, don't you?"

"Yeah. But its all so...romantic." She shrugged.

"I've never really considered suicide romantic, but ok, whatever you say."

"It's not about them killing themselves." she said a little defensively. "It's about two people so in love that they can't live without each other. It's about the stupidity of two families hating each other for reasons that are never explained being brought together through a senseless tragedy. If they didn't die, the war between their families would never end."

"You do know a lot about this. Ok, I'll rely on you. Tell me, why are these two so attracted to each other? I mean, they've never seen each other before, and then in one night they're supposed to fall in love? This Romeo guy, just a few pages before he's whining about a girl named Rosiline, and BOOM! He sees Juliet and that's it? No more Rosiline? It doesn't make sense."

"Don't you believe in love at first sight?"

He looked at her, his hazel eyes so sad. "It only really happens in fairy tales."

She wanted to cry. Fairy tales. Like the one they had been lost in a week ago, dressed as story book characters, dancing as though they where in a dream. Was it really all just a dream? Had she fantisized the whole thing?

No! No, she didn't believe that. If his actions over the last week where any indication, he didn't either.

"Well, think of this as a fairy tale then. Just minus the fairy godmother and magic."

He smiled. "The nurse is kind of like a fairy godmother, isn't she? Trying to help them?"

"Yeah," Sharpay considered. "I guess she is."

"But there's no wicked witch or evil wizard."

"No, but you could consider the hate between their families to be its own evil."

"So there you go. I guess you can make this into a fairy tale, if you tried."

"Jason. Where exactly is this conversation going?"

"Nowhere. I just...want to understand where they're coming from is all."

"You don't have to do that. Understand them, I mean. Acting is all about pretending. Make believe. Being another person for just a while."

"Is that why you like it so much?" he asked.

"Of course no. Why would I want to be someone else?" Oh, that was so a lie. She yearned to be someone else all the time. Except for now. Right now she just wanted to be Sharpay. With Jason.

Huh...when exactly had they moved so close to each other? That was interesting.

"I get the feeling, Sharpay Evans, that you're always acting. Aren't you?"

My god, he really could see right through her, couldn't he? She wouldn't give in though. She wouldn't!

"And I get the feeling, Jason Cross, that we need to get to work. Why don't you start with these lines here?" She pointed to the line of the script she wanted him to read.

She watched his eyes move over the words, remembering the way they had moved over her with the same level of concentration. A sudden shot of heat through her veins had her stepping away from him.

"Juliet is across the room." Yeah, that's good, move across the stage. As far away from him as she could get. "Romeo sees her. She's dancing with Paris. He's enchanted by her beauty." She began to move in a medieval style dance. "Go on, start."

She heard Jason take a deep breath.

"O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night, like a rich jewel in a Ethrop's ear- Beauty to rich for use, for earth too dear!...Sharpay, this is too long. He didn't say this all in the movie I saw."

She stopped her dance. "We can't edit Shakespeare, no matter what anyone else does. We're going to do this right, Jason. Now read!"

She thought she heard him mutter something like 'so gonna kill Ryan', then "So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows...what does that even mean?"

"Beats me. Doesn't really matter. Just read it."

"The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand. And, touching hers, made blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night...well, that part I get at least."

"Why?" She asked. "What makes that part so much clearer then the rest of it?"

"I know how he feels." Jason answered. To her surprise, she found they had moved closer again. She didn't even remember walking toward him. Or did he walk to her? Did it matter?

"How does he feel?"

"Dumbstruck. He thought he knew what real beauty was, but he'd never seen anything like her before."

She nodded. "That's it. You're getting it."

He smiled, and she wanted to move those last few steps, be in his arms again. She couldn't forget how it felt, to dance in the circle of his arms.

Real...home...safe...Jason.

A whisper light touch on her hand told her that Jason had taken it within his own. Sparks shot up her arm.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand. This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this. My lips, two blushing pilgrims ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

The pause was long. Sharpay's breaths where deep. She was unable to look away from their hands joined together.

"Sharpay?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you have a line?" There was a hint of amusement in his voice. She looked up to see those hazel eyes sparkling. Oh my.

"Line?"

"Juliet's line." His hand left hers to trail a finger up her arm. She shivered.

"What are you doing?"

"Flirting."

"You're supposed to be Romeo. You're not supposed to be flirting."

"I disagree." He whispered. His face was closer now. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin. She swallowed hard.

"He's trying to seduce the prettiest girl in the room. If that's not a call for flirting, I don't know what is."

"You're supposed to be nervous. I mean Romeo. He's supposed to be nervous."

"I'm that too."

If they where any closer they would be one person. Jason's hand was on her shoulder now, his fingers gently caressing her skin there, doing dangerous things to her concentration.

"You still haven't said your lines." He said.

Lines? What lines?

Oh! Oh, yeah. Those. What where they again?

"It goes, 'Good pilgrim, you do ...'," Jason read from the script.

"I know! I know." It took every ounce of her strength to step away from him. "I know this play backwards and forwards. You don't have to give me cues."

"Sorry. You just seemed kind of lost there."

"Well, I'm not." She took a deep breath and began to recite. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much. Which mannerly devotion shows in this. For Saints have hand that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

"Have not Saints lips, and holy palmers too?" Jason replied, his eyes on the pages in his hands.

"Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer."

"O then, dear Saint, let lips do what hands do! They pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair."

They had moved close again. How did that keep happening without her realizing it? "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake." She heard a tremble in her voice. Her head kept telling her to run, that this was too strong, too dangerous. But her body would not heed that advice. She couldn't move for anything at the moment.

"Then move not while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged."

"Ok." She said, "That's good. Now..."

Whatever she was going to say next was wiped from her mind by the pressure of Jason's lips on her.

His soft mouth moved over hers, his arm went around her waist and pulled her against him. Her lips, of their own violation it seemed, responded.

Jason deepened the kiss. Slowly, slowly...until Sharpay's lips separated under the pressure, and she tasted him. Her hand clenched into his hair, not to tear him away, but to keep him right where he was.

She heard the pages of his script fall to the stage floor, scattering around them. She paid them no attention. All that mattered was her and Jason, their lips, their tongues, his arm around her waist, his hand moving over the bare skin at her back.

Touching, tasting, feeling.

Sensations she had never felt before shot through her body. For the first time in her life, Sharpay Evans was not in control of herself, and she liked it. She wanted to stay there, just like this. She wanted to feel Jason, know him. She wanted...Oh, dear god, she wanted him.

It was that realization that made her pull away. Jason's eyes where glazed, his breaths taken in long, deep gulps.

"Wow." He gasped out.

"What..." her voice came out in a squeak. She took a deep breath, swallowed, cleared her throat. "What was that?"

"Well, geez, if I have to explain it to you..." He gave a lazy smile, and reached for her again.

She moved away from him, immediently missing his warmth. "No, I mean, why did you do that?"

"It was in the script." he said, "It said, 'He kisses her'."

"Oh. Right."

"He kisses her again. She asks him too."

"Then from my lips the sin that they have took."

"That's the one. Sorry, can't say my next line. The script is kind of all over the place right now. Gonna be a bitch to get back in order. So, why don't we just skip that part and get right to the point."

"No." She ducked away from the hand reaching for her face. "It's not that easy, Jason. It can't be. I won't let it."

"Why?"

"Why?!" Do you remember what you did? Running away from me?"

"Yeah, I remember. I also remember trying to tell you how sorry I was, but you wouldn't listen. Man, you're stubborn. This last week has been killing me."

"Why didn't you stay?" She felt her eyes water, and spill over. She never cried...well, no often. She didn't want to appear weak. Only the strong survived in the world of theater. But being so close to Jason, his hazel eyes staring into her, took every defense from her. "I wanted you to stay."

"I'm stupid, and I'm sorry. Please Sharpay, give me another chance. I can't promise I won't hurt you again. There are some things beyond my control. But I'll do my best, and I won't run again. I want to give this, whatever this is, a shot."

The damn burst, and she broke. The tears came rushing out. "Jason." was all she said before she felt herself being enfolded in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." he murmured into her hair.

"I'm not saying I forgive you." she said. "Not yet."

"Fair enough."

"You need to do a lot of begging."

She felt his laughter in the way his body moved against her. "Like how?"

"Dinner. And a movie. Tonight. And nothing starring Bruce Willis or anything with explosions."

"Deal." He lifted her chin, and kissed her. Wet cheeks and all.

It was then that she knew. She, Sharpay Evans, loved Jason Cross. Not that she would tell him that.

Yet.


End file.
